Who benefits from Scott Walker's early demise? Marco Rubio.

Monday — the day Scott Walker dropped out of the 2016 presidential race — was apparently a very good day for Marco Rubio. A Politico survey of "Republican insiders in Iowa and New Hampshire" reveals that 36 percent of the Iowa crowd thinks the Florida senator benefits the most from Walker's exit, followed by Ted Cruz with 16 percent. New Hampshire insiders agree about Rubio, with 38 percent tagging him as the key beneficiary of Walker's exit.

Why? In the words of one Iowa Republican, the Rubio windfall can likely be attributed to the fact that "many of Walker's early supporters were decidedly not for Bush" and for Walker backers looking for a "new conservative voice that both holds principle and has engaged to get things done," Rubio fits the bill best. "He is offensive to no one in the GOP," a New Hampshire Republican added to Politico. "As such, as candidates drop out, they may naturally gravitate to Rubio. He is the one candidate who could unify a very angry, fractured party."

Slowly but surely, Rubio has been gaining in the polls recently. He has 9.3 percent in Real Clear Politics' national polling average of the GOP race — good for fifth place in a crowded field — a marked increase from his 7.3 percent a month ago.

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